Coming from a modest middle-class family and building a career in medicine, Dr Shaheen Saeed's life took a dramatic and alarming turn when she became linked to the Delhi terror blast conspiracy after her association and later third marriage to a Kashmiri doctor, Dr Muzammil Shakeel.
According to an NDTV report citing investigative sources, Saeed's introduction to extremist networks began after the two got married in September 2023, a union that ultimately drew her into the world of radicalisation.
Raised in Daliganj, a densely populated area of Lucknow, Saeed was known for her academic excellence. She completed her MBBS from Allahabad and later specialised in pharmacology.
Her father, Syed Ahmad, is a government employee, and the family has long been regarded as an educated and socially respected household.
Saeed's first marriage was to ophthalmologist Dr Zafar Hayat in 2003, with whom she had two children. However, the couple separated in late 2012, reportedly due to professional pressures, career differences, and Saeed's desire to move abroad.
The divorce significantly affected her, and she eventually withdrew from the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur, where she taught, abruptly discontinuing her duties and becoming untraceable for nearly eight years.
Her job was terminated in 2021, and a subsequent second marriage to a textile businessman from Ghaziabad also ended unsuccessfully.
It was during this period of personal instability that Muzammil Shakeel, her junior at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, entered her life. Their bond grew through daily interactions at the college and shared professional backgrounds.
During interrogation, Shakeel revealed that the two were married in September 2023 at a mosque near Al-Falah University, where he offered a mahr of around Rs 6,000. Once they began living together, Saeed became involved with student groups and started engaging in religious activities.
Sources indicate that she was approached by members of Jamaat ul-Mominaat, the women's wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed, during these gatherings. Investigators believe this marked the beginning of her indoctrination into radical ideology.
Using her medical credentials, Saeed reportedly travelled frequently between Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi-NCR, and Haryana, transferring funds and delivering messages.
She was allegedly appointed head of the India branch of Jamaat ul-Mominaat, which is overseen by JeM founder Masood Azhar's sister, Sadia Azhar, in Pakistan.
NDTV reported that Saeed was entrusted with assembling a team of five "terror doctors", a group she was believed to be forming at the time of her arrest.
Her father, Syed Ahmad, expressed shock and disbelief over the allegations.
"I cannot believe that my daughter was involved in such activities," he told IANS.
Saeed, along with Muzammil Shakeel and Adeel Ahmed Rather, has been arrested in connection with the Delhi blast probe. The attack killed at least 13 people and injured many others when a slow-moving Hyundai i20 driven by a suicide bomber, Dr Umar Mohammad, also known as Umar un Nabi, exploded near the Red Fort.
Umar, a Kashmiri doctor like the others, was affiliated with Al-Falah University.
(With inputs from IANS)
